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LINCOLN  ROOM 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


MEMORIAL 

the  Class  of  1901 


founded  by 

HARLAN  HOYT  HORNER 

and 

HENRIETTA  CALHOUN  HORNER 


c^^jo^'^'^ 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 


WHEN  LINCOLN 
KISSED  ME 

A  STORY  OF 

THE  WILDERNESS 

CAMPAIGN 


BY 

HENRY  E.  WING 

Formerly  Correspondent  of  the  New  York  Tribune 
with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 


THE  ABINGDON  PRESS 

NEW  YORK  CINCINNATI 


Copyright,  191  j,  by 
HENRY  E.  WING. 


Printed  February,  191J 
Reprinted  October,  1914 


A  BIT  OF  fflSTORY 


The  Rev*  Henry  E*  Wing,  who 

so  interestingly  tells  this  Lincoln  story, 
is  a  member  of  the  New  York  East 
Conference^  Twenty  years  of  his  min- 
istry were  spent  in  Iowa,  but  since 
1892  he  has  made  his  home  in  the 
East*  At  the  time  of  the  events  nar- 
rated Mr.  Wing  was  correspondent  for 
the  New  York  Tribune,  assigned  to  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac*  To  his  inti- 
mate friends  he  has  long  been  known 
as  a  raconteur  of  unusual  ability,  with 
experiences  in  varied  fields  well  worthy 
of  permanent  record*  His  modesty, 
however,  is  as  characteristic  as  his 
story- telling* 

The  appearance  of  this  and  other 
war-time  stories  after  a  lapse  of  fifty 
years    is    due   almost    wholly  to   the 


A  BIT  OF  HISTORY 

efforts  of  the  Rev*  Dr*  F*  B*  Uphanit 
of  Brooklyn,  New  York,  who  recognized 
the  unusual  quality  of  Mr*  Wing's  ex- 
periences and  brought  them  to  the  at- 
tention of  the  Editor  of  The  Qiristian 
Advocate  and  the  Book  Editor  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church*  The  lit- 
erary and  historic  value  of  Mr*  Wing's 
work  was  so  evident  that  it  was  im- 
mediately determined  to  publish  this 
story,  first  in  the  pages  of  The  Qiris- 
tian Advocate  and  afterward  in  this 
more  permanent  form*  The  Christian 
Advocate  well  says,  **  It  will  be  evident 
to  all  who  read  this  thrilling  narrative 
that  he  sacrificed  an  opportunity  for 
literary  distinction  in  order  that  he 
might  become  a  Methodist  preacher*'' 

D*  G*  D* 


WHEN  LINCOLN  KISSED  ME 


Anxious  Days 

jJN  May  4,  J  864,  a  great  army 
of  citizen  soldiers^  comprising 
representatives  of  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  families  from 
every  Northern  commtmityt 
had  vanished  without  warning,  leaving, 
absolutely  no  sign  of  their  destination 
or  hint  even  of  the  direction  in  which 
they  had  disappeared*  There  followed 
three  or  four  days  of  such  heart-break- 
ing apprehension  and  bewilderment  as 
the  loyal  nation  had  never  before  ex- 
perienced* I  did  not  then  compre- 
hend, and  probably  cannot  yet  quite 
appreciate,  the  tension  of  painful  anx- 
iety that  held  the  whole  country  in  its 


WHEN  LINCOLN  KISSED  ME 

grip   and   which  it   became  my  good 
fortune  later  to  relieve* 

It  may  be  noted  that  this  slipping 
away  of  the  army  from  all  communica- 
tion with  the  capital  was  intentional 
and  deliberate*  A  study  of  previous 
**  advances/'  under  the  surveillance  of 
parties  in  authority  inexperienced  in 
military  affairst  will  disclose  one  mo- 
tive for  bringing  Grant  east  to  take 
personal  charge  of  this  campaign*  This 
will  also  furnish  the  key  to  the  letter 
from  the  President  to  him,  written  a 
short  week  before  the  movement  was 
madet  in  which  he  says:  **  The  particu- 
lars of  your  plans  I  neither  know  nor 
seek  to  know*'' 

Beginning  the  Campaign 

The  great  campaign  ^*by  the  left 
flank  "  that  was  to  end  at  Appomattox 
nearly  a  year  afterward  was  begun  from 


WHEN   LINCOLN   KISSED  ME 

about  Calpeper  on  the  early  morning 
of  May  4,  J 864,  **  The  objective  point/' 
Grant  had  written  to  Meade,  *'will  be 
Lee's  army^  Where  he  goes  there  you 
will  go  also/'  Lee's  army  was  at  and 
about  Orange  Court  House*  Between 
Culpeper  and  this  first  **  objective 
point  " — moving  by  the  left,  to  possibly 
get  between  Lee  and  his  capital — 
flowed  the  Rapidan  River,  and  beyond 
that  stretched  the  almost  impenetrable 
**  wilderness/' 

The  immediate  undertaking  was  to 
get  the  Union  army  of  more  than  one 
hundred  thousand  men  over  into  the 
open  country  before  Lee  could  inter- 
cept iU  This  was  no  small  task* 
There  were  actually  but  two  miserable 
and  narrow  roads:  one  across  Ger- 
mania  Ford  and  by  Old  Wilderness 
Tavern,  toward  Spottsylvania,  the  other 
across   Ely's   Ford,   and,  skirting   the 


WHEN  LINCOLN  KISSED  ME 


wilderness^  to  Chancellorsville*  Over 
these  two  highwayst  for  an  average 
distance  of  twenty-five  miles^  before 
Lee  could  fall  upon  them,  were  to  be 
pushed  something  like  thirty  miles  of 
marching  infantry,  ten  miles  of  cavaty, 
five  miles  of  artillery,  and  sixty  miles 
of  army  wagons*  It  is  evident  that  the 
key  to  the  success  of  this  initial  move- 
ment was  push* 

The  second  corps  (Hancock^s),  es- 
corted by  Gregg^s  division  of  cavalry, 
crossed  at  Ely's  Ford  in  the  early 
morning  (May  4)  and  reached  the 
open  country,  near  Chancellorsville, 
about  noon*  Here,  in  a  splendid  po- 
sition for  a  great  battle,  Hancock  spent 
the  afternoon  intrenching  and  extend- 
ing his  lines  westward  to  certainly  get 
between  Lee  and  Richmond*  Mean- 
while   "Warren    with    his    fifth    corps 

crossed  at  Germania  Ford  and  worked 

8 


WHEN  LINCOLN  KISSED  ME 

his  way  down  by  the  Tavern  till  he 
reached  the  junction  of  the  Orange 
Court  House  Turnpike*  Instead  of 
pushing  right  on  and  joining  Hancock 
he  halted  here,  and  got  into  position  for 
a  possible  attack  by  Lee,  leaving  Sedg- 
wick with  his  sixth  corps  '*  bottled  up '' 
in  the  narrow  road  two  or  three  miles 
behind  him,  and  Hancock  cut  off  from 
all  support,  five  or  six  miles  in  front* 
Here,  on  Thursday  morning.  May  5, 
Lee  found  us*  And  here  ensued  the 
dreadful  Battle  of  the  Wilderness* 

I  am  not  writing  a  history  of  that 
great  campaign — not  even  the  story  of 
this  first  grapple  between  those  match- 
less chieftains.  Grant  and  Lee*  But, 
following  what  I  have  already  set  down^ 
it  may  properly  be  said  that  had  Sedg- 
wick instead  of  the  over-cautious  War- 
ren led  the  column  across  the  upper 

ford,  there  would  have  been  no  **  Battle 

9 


WHEN  LINCOLN  KISSED  ME 

of  the  Wilderness,' '  but  one  which 
might  have  been  decisivet  on  the  open 
plains  beyond* 

The  Message  to  Lincoln 

The  New  York  Tribune  had  four 
correspondents  in  the  field,  of  whom  I 
was  one,  attached  at  that  time  to  the 
second  corps*  At  the  close  of  the  first 
day's  fighting,  we  came  together  at 
army  headquarters  to  compare  notes 
and  to  lay  plans  for  the  future*  The 
battle  was  to  be  renewed  the  next 
morning*  It  was  an  open  secret  that 
Meade  had  suggested  a  retreat  across 
the  river  under  cover  of  the  night  and 
a  fresh  start  over  some  more  promising 
route,  and  that  Grant  had  vetoed  the 
proposition  and  had  ordered  the  lines 
to  be  formed  for  an  assault  upon  the 
enemy  at  daybreak* 

It  was  very  quickly  decided  that  one 

JO 


HENRY  E.  WING 
War  Correspondent 


WHEN   LINCOLN   KISSED  ME 

of  us  should  start  for  the  North  with 
the  several  reports  of  the  stirring  events 
of  the  last  two  or  three  days.  As  I  was 
the  youngest,  I  knew  the  task  natur- 
ally belonged  to  me,  and  my  offer  to 
undertake  it  was  instantly  accepted  by 
the  others.  It  was  known  to  be  an  ad- 
venturous undertaking.  The  Ninth 
corps  was  akeady  crossing  the  Rapi- 
dan  to  support  the  fortunes  of  the 
battle-line  in  front,  and  thus  by  to- 
morrow the  whole  country  between  the 
Rapidan  and  the  Bull  Run  Rivers  was 
to  be  abandoned  by  our  troops.  How 
full  of  peril  the  enterprise  really  was 
may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  of 
four  or  five  messengers  for  different 
newspapers  I  was  the  only  one  who 
had  the  good  fortune  to  get  through. 

My  favorite  mount  was  a  Kentucky- 
bred  racing  horse,  that  I  had  procured 
from  Captain  Cline,  Meade^s  chief  of 


WHEN  LINCOLN  KISSED  ME 

scouts*  As  soon  as  it  was  decided  that 
I  should  make  the  trip  I  went  up  to  the 
corral,  and  instructed  the  **hoY**  to 
give  Jesse  a  hearty  breakfast  at  three 
o^cIock  in  the  morning,  and  to  have 
him  groomed  and  saddled  at  four*  He 
might  have  to  take  me  more  than 
seventy  miles  to  Washington — possibly 
without  even  a  feed  or  halt — the  fol- 
lowing day* 

I  then  went  up  to  Grant's  headquar- 
ters, and,  approaching  him,  said  that  I 
was  coming  out  the  next  day,  and 
asked  him  if  he  had  any  message  to 
the  people  that  I  could  insert  in  my 
dispatches  to  the  Tribune* 

**  Well,  yes,''  he  replied,  ^^  you  may 
tell  the  people  that  things  are  going 
swimmingly  down  here*" 

The  remark  was  so  evasive,  or  pur- 
posely misleading,  at  the   close  of  a 

battle  in  which  every  one  of  his  plans 

12 


WHEN  LINCOLN  KISSED  ME 

had  evidently  gone  wrong  that  I  smiled 
as  I  entered  the  exact  words  in  my 
note  book^  thanked  him,  and  turned 
away»  I  had  only  taken  a  step  or  two 
when  he  got  up  and  joined  me.  When 
we  had  walked  out  of  hearing  of  his 
companions  he  laid  his  hand  upon  my 
shoulder  and,  quietly  facing  me,  in- 
quired, **  You  expect  to  get  through  to 
Washington  ?  ** 

I  replied  that  that  was  my  purpose, 
and  that  I  should  start  at  daybreak* 

Then,  in  a  low  tone,  he  said :  **  "Well, 
if  you  see  the  President,  tell  him  from 
me  that,  whatever  happens,  there  will 
be  no  turning  back/'  He  silently  gave 
me  his  hand  in  farewell  greeting,  and 
we  parted* 

Through  the  Enemy's  Country 

At  four  o'clock   the   next  morning, 

after  three  hours  of  sound  sleep  and  a 

J3 


WHEN  LINCOLN   KISSED  ME 

»  ' 

light  breakfastt  I  was  in  the  saddle*  In 
my  saddlebags  were  the  general  re- 
ports of  march  and  battle,  to  fill  at 
least  a  whole  page  of  the  Daily  Trib- 
une, and  strapped  behind  was  a  good 
feed  of  oats  for  my  trusty  comrade* 

I  had  worked  out  a  splendid  plan— 
for  getting  captured*  On  Wednesday 
morning  (only  the  day  before  yester- 
day: bat  how  long  ago  it  seemed!), 
riding  with  the  second  corps,  my  jour- 
nalistic companion  was  Mr*  Waud,  of 
Harper's  Weekly*  After  crossing  at 
Ely's  Ford  he  took  me  up  the  river  a 
few  miles  to  some  silver  mines*  Here 
was  an  acquaintance  of  his,  a  Mr*  "Wy- 
kofl,  of  Brooklyn,  New  York,  who,  too 
far  advanced  in  life  to  be  drafted  into 
the  Confederate  service,  had  stayed  to 
look  after  mining  properties,  owned  by 
Northern  capitalists*  My  scheme  now 
was,  to  get  Mr*  Wykoff  to  go  along 

J4 


WHEN  LINCOLN   KISSED  ME 

with  mCt  at  least  across  the  country  to 
the  Rappahannock  River,  guiding  me 
fay  by-roads  and  cattle-trails  with 
which  he  must  be  familiar  through 
that  portion  of  my  route,  in  the  imme- 
diate rear  of  our  army,  and  most  likely 
to  be  overrun  by  bands  of  guerrillas 
and  scouting  parties  of  the  enemy^s 
cavalry*  So  I  turned  Jesse's  head 
toward  Culpeper  mines  and,  in 
a  short  time,  was  at  Mr.  Wykoff's 
door. 

Mr.  Wykoff  dismissed  my  proposal 
without  the  slightest  hesitation.  He 
was  known  through  all  that  neighbor- 
hood as  an  uncompromising  Union 
man,  and  no  course  could  be  devised 
that  would  more  surely  defeat  my  pur- 
pose than  to  be  found  in  his  company* 
He  was  almost  certain  that  I  would 
fail  in  my  undertaking;   but  when  he 

realized  that  I  was  determined  to  try 

t5 


WHEN  LINCOLN  KISSED  ME 


he  elaborated  the  scheme  to  which  I 
was  to  owe  my  success  at  last:  I  must 
be  going  to  Washington;  and  I  must 
have  an  errand  there  that  would 
justify  my  haste,  and  that  would  win 
the  sympathy,  and  possible  coopera- 
tion, of  the  enemy*  So  this  was  my 
story:  There  had  been  a  great  battle, 
in  which  the  Yankee  army  had  been 
overwhehningly  defeated;  and  I  was 
hurrying  with  the  good  news  to  our 
friends  in  Washington*  To  fortify  me 
in  the  prosecution  of  this  adventure 
Mr*  WyfcofiE  made  me  familiar  with 
the  names  of  a  half  dozen  prominent 
Southern  sympathizers  in  the  capital 
city*  Then  he  wisely  determined  that 
I  was  too  well  dressed  for  the  part* 
The  Tribune  took  pride  in  having  its 
representatives  well  equipped,  and  my 
outfit  included  pantaloons  of  the  most 

costly  Irish  corduroy,  a  fine  **buck- 

16 


WHEN   UNCOLN  KISSED  ME 

skin ''  jacket,  a  dark,  soft  felt  hat, 
calf-skin  boots,  and  Alexandra  kid 
gloves.  These  I  exchanged  for  a  regu- 
lar ** Butternut''  suit,  with  coarse, 
broad  **brogans''  and  a  disreputable 
hat  of  quilted  cotton. 

While  these  preparations  were  being 
made  a  troop  of  gray  cavalry  passed 
up  the  river  on  the  opposite  bank,  and 
it  became  nearly  certain  that  I  was  to 
fall  in  with  many  such  parties.  No 
loyal  man  would  take  through  our 
lines,  when  there  was  possibility  of 
capture,  a  scrap  of  paper  that  would 
convey  information  to  the  enemy;  so 
I  destroyed  my  precious  budget  of 
correspondence  and  all  notes  and 
memoranda  that  could  possibly  dis- 
close information  of  value.  And,  for 
my  own  safety,  I  divested  myself  of  all 
private   papers,   by  which  I  could  be 

identified.     Then,  bidding  farewell  to 

17 


WHEN  LINCOLN  KISSED  ME 

the  loyal  man  to  whose  wise  counsel  I 
tindoubtedly  owe  my  life,  I  set  out  on 
my  long  and  hazardous  journey ♦ 

Among  Mosby's  Troopers 

About  eight  miles  on  the  way  was 
the  little  hamlet  of  Richardsvillet  at 
which  point  Mr»  "WykofE  had  advised 
me  to  take  a  blind  trail  across  to 
Field^s  Ford,  on  the  Rappahannock*  I 
reached  there,  having  encountered  but 
one  small  squad  of  Confederate  scouts, 
with  whom  I  had  no  difficulty*  I  was 
much  encouraged  by  my  experience 
thus  far;  and,  once  across  the  Rappa- 
hannock, the  country  I  was  to  travel 
was  likely  to  be  practically  abandoned* 

But  right  now  I  came  to  a  troop  of 
Mosby's  troopers*  They  were  lying 
about  in  a  dooryard,  with  their  horses 
feeding  outside  the  fence*  As  I  was 
riding  leisurely  by  they  naturally  hailed 

18 


ULYSSES  S.  GRANT 


WHEN   LINCOLN  KISSED  ME 

me,  and,  gathering  about,  received  my 
good  tidings  of  Lee*s  victory  with  great 
rejoicing*  But,  as  to  my  going  on 
alone ! — the  woods  were  full  of  skulk- 
ing *^  nigger  ""  soldiers — stragglers  from 
Ferraro's  division  of  colored  troops, 
and  the  life  of  a  good  rebel,  like  me, 
would  not  be  worth  **a  chaw-er-ter- 
backer/'  The  sequel  was  that  they 
furnished  me  an  escort  of  two  men  to 
protect  me  on  the  way*  I  was  now 
having  the  **run  of  luck*^  which  had 
been  rather  a  distinguishing  feature  of 
my  career  since  boyhood*  Two  men, 
mounted  and  armed,  ragged  and  dirty 
enough  to  be  my  fit  companions,  were 
to  give  me  respectable  standing  with 
their  neighbors,  and  were  to  defend 
me  from  the  ravaging  black  man* 

I  supposed  that  we  were  on  our  way 
to  Field's  Ford,  but,  coming  over  the 

brow  of  a  hill,  I  recognized  the  scene 

^^ 


WHEN  LINCOLN  KISSED  ME 


before  me*  "We  were  at  Kelly^s  Ford; 
and  Mr*  Kelly,  a  one-armed  man — at 
heart  a  bitter  secessionist — had  ^*enter- 
tained  *^  me  for  two  days  while  our 
troops  were  in  that  neighborhood*  He 
would  ahnost  certainly  recogni2e  me 
in  even  this  disguise  unless  I  could  slip 
by  unobserved*  So  I  dismissed  my 
kind  companions  with  many  thanks,  as 
I  was  now  sure  of  myself,  and  they  had 
been  in  the  saddle  all  night* 

Once  rid  of  my  escort  I  started  for 
the  ford,  but  Mr*  Kelly  was  standing 
on  a  knoU  above  his  house,  listening 
to  the  roar  of  the  distant  battle,  and, 
hastening  across  to  the  road,  he  inter- 
cepted me*  I  drew  my  slouching  hat 
brim  down  over  my  face,  but  he  recog- 
nized me  and  reached  for  the  bridle* 
As  he  did  so  I  touched  Jesse  with  the 
spur  and  he  sprang  forward  and  rushed 
for  the  river*   In  answer  to  Mr*  Kelly^s 

20 


WHEN   LINCOLN   KISSED  ME 

shouts,  my  erstwhile  comrades,  joined 
by  two  other  mounted  men,  came 
dashing  after  me.  In  my  confusion 
we  missed  the  ford,  but  Jesse  swam 
boldly  through  the  deep  waters  to  the 
upper  shore.  As  he  scrambled  up  the 
steep  bank  a  volley  of  scattering  shots 
spattered  about  us. 

I  was  now  in  excellent  spirits.  I 
was  mounted  on  a  horse  that  had 
never  been  overtaken.  Besides,  my 
proverbial  **  luck  **  could  certainly  be 
depended  on.  But  just  then  I  made 
one  of  those  sad  mistakes  that  so  fre- 
quently interrupt  and  defeat  the  good 
offices  of  Dame  Fortune.  I  should 
have  kept  right  on  east  through  a 
sparsely  settled  country  to  Warrenton 
Junction;  but  a  piece  of  thick  timber 
at  the  left  hand  invited  me  to  turn 
aside   into   a   wood   path,  and   in   ten 

minutes  I  burst  into  the  clearing  about 

2i 


WHEN  LINCOLN  KISSED  ME 

Rappahannock  Station,  on  the  Orange 
and  Alexandria  Railroad*  Here  were 
five  hundred  people,  of  all  ages  and 
both  sexes,  loading  carts  and  wagons 
with  abandoned  army  supplies*  I 
could  not  ride  through  the  crowd  on  a 
gallop  without  attracting  attention,  so 
I  pulled  Jesse  down  to  a  walk,  and  no 
one  accosted  me* 

I  turned  to  the  right  and,  once  past 
the  village,  tried  to  put  Jesse  forward 
at  his  best  gait  toward  Washington, 
but  the  road  was  so  encumbered  with 
vehicles  and  cavafrymen  that  I  could 
make  but  slow  progress*  It  would  ex- 
cite suspicion  if  I  did  not  greet  every- 
one who  accosted  me,  and,  of  course, 
I  had  to  satisfy  the  scrutiny  of  the 
numerous  squads  of  Confederate  pa- 
trol* While  my  story  was  finally  ac- 
cepted by  everyone  I  met,  my  progress 
was  constantly  interrupted,  and  some- 

22 


WHEN  LINCOLN   KISSED   ME 

where  behind  me  were  my  comrades 
of  the  morning,  gathering  recruits  as 
they  came  and  bent  on  my  capture* 

With  a  clear  road,  on  a  horse  that 
had  never  been  outstripped,  I  would 
have  enjoyed  the  contest ^  but  every 
moment  in  which  I  was  halted  and 
questioned  increased  my  peril  until  I 
was  certain  that  I  could  never  get 
through  in  the  saddle*  My  only  chance 
was  in  abandoning  my  horse*  But, 
leaving  him  in  the  highway  would  re- 
sult in  my  certain  capture,  before  I 
could  get  out  of  the  neighborhood* 

Just  then  my  apparently  ever-present 
good  fortune  again  came  to  my  aid*  A 
clump  of  trees  with  thick  underbrush 
a  few  yards  from  the  road  offered 
**  shelter  for  man  and  beast*^^  Watch- 
ing an  opportunity,  when  no  one  was  in 
sight,  I  led  Jesse  into  this  safe  retreat* 
Slipping  off  saddle  and  bridle  and  hid- 

23 


WHEN  LINCOLN   KISSED  ME 

ing  them  away,  I  tied  my  good  friend 
by  a  long  rein  to  an  overhanging 
branch,  poured  the  oats  upon  the 
ground,  and  bade  him  a  really  **  affec- 
tionate farewell/* 

Before  I  crept  out  of  my  hiding  place 
a  dozen  men,  led  by  my  quondam 
friends,  came  galloping  by*  They 
were  evidently  in  quest  of  a  good-look- 
ing youngster,  in  a  butternut  suit,  rid- 
ing a  handsome  chestnut  Kentucky 
thoroughbred*  If  they  are  looking  yet, 
this  may  inform  them  that  we  are  not 
thereabouts*  Even  Jesse  is  not  there, 
for,  in  fulfillment  of  a  sacred  promise 
to  him,  I  sneaked  back  the  next  Sun- 
day and  brought  him  out* 

Tramping  the  Ties 

The  hiding  away  of  that  horse  was 
fortunate  for  me,  for  it  evidently  put 
my  pursuers  completely  off  the  scent* 

24 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN  IN  THE  CAMPS 


WHEN  LINCOLN   KISSED  ME 

I  crawled  over  to  the  railroad  and 
started  on  my  long  tramp  tip  the  track 
for  our  lines  about  Washington.  I  fre- 
quently lay  for  several  minutes  flat  in 
the  weeds  and  grass,  cruelly  tormented 
by  swarms  of  insects,  while  parties 
passed  within  sight*  It  took  me  over 
an  hour  to  get  around  Warrenton  Junc- 
tion, where  as  at  Rappahannock  Sta- 
tion, scores  of  people  were  gathered 
picking  up  and  packing  off  the  debris 
of  the  deserted  Union  camps* 

Then  came  a  great  surprise*  Has- 
tening through  a  cut  and  around  a 
curve  in  the  road,  I  encountered  an 
armed  man*  My  first  impression  was 
that  he  was  one  of  Mosby^s  guerrillas, 
disguised,  as  they  frequently  were,  in 
the  uniform  of  the  patriot  troops;  but 
his  voice,  as  he  ordered  me  to  halt, 
gave  me  assurance,  for  in  all  my  inter- 
course with  Confederates  I  had  never 

25 


WHEN  LINCOLN   KISSED  ME 

heard  the  Irish  brogue  from  the  lips  of 
a  disloyal  person*  He  proved  to  be  a 
private  of  one  of  our  Irish  regiments 
(I  think  the  Sixty-ninth  New  York)* 
They  had  been  here  all  winter,  I  be- 
lieve, as  guard  of  the  bridge  across 
Cedar  Creek;  and,  by  some  mistake, 
had  received  no  orders  to  break  camp 
and  join  in  the  general  advance*  Be- 
ing an  infantry  regiment,  they  had  no 
large  guns,  but  they  had  mounted  their 
breastworks  with  **  Quaker  '*  cannon — 
logs,  with  the  ends  blackened  with 
charcoaL  These  looked  very  formid- 
able to  the  gray  cavalrymen  circling 
about  at  a  safe  distance,  but,  on  close 
examination,  as  a  sergeant  remarked, 
^*they  were  almost  too  natural  to  be 

I  got  a  good  dinner  here  and  lots  of 
good  cheer*  As  there  were  several 
parties  in  sight,  and  I  was  to  resume 

26 


WHEN  LINCOLN   KISSED  ME 

the  role  of  Southern  sympathizer,  I  ar- 
ranged with  these  people  to  fire  a  vol- 
ley toward  me  as  I  **  escaped  *'  across 
the  bridge.  From  there,  in  mid-after- 
noon, I  passed  Catlett's  Station  safely > 
and  made  my  way  without  noteworthy 
incident  to  Manassas  Junction^ 

At  Manassas  Junction  I  got  caught 
at  last.  Here  was  a  regularly  organized 
Confederate  cavalry  camp — really  an 
outpost  to  protect  all  the  country,  from 
the  Bull  Run  to  the  Rapidan,  recently 
abandoned  by  our  troops,  from  incur- 
sion by  the  forces  about  the  capitaL 
As  I  approached  the  place  so  much 
vigilance  was  manifest  that  I  aban- 
doned the  idea  of  creeping  past,  deem- 
ing it  safer  to  walk  boldly  into  the 
camp.  I  told  my  story,  with  the  pur- 
pose of  pressing  right  forward  on  my 
mission,  but  the  major  in  command 
was  absent,  and  the  lieutenant  in  tem- 

27 


WHEN  LINCOLN   KISSED  ME 

porary  charge  did  not  feci  justified  in 
letting  me  go  on* 

Here  I  waited  three  or  four  hours, 
getting  more  impatient  as  the  time 
went  by,  and  more  uneasy,  lest  some 
one  might  come  in  from  below,  with  a 
description  of  a  certain  fugitive  in 
whom  I  had  a  vital  interest*  At  last 
dusk  came  on  and  then  I  did  a  very 
ungentlemanly  thing*  "Without  any 
expression  of  thanks  to  these  extreme- 
ly attentive  people,  or  any  polite  mes- 
sage for  the  gaUant  major,  at  whose 
headquarters  I  had  been  entertained 
with  such  steadfast  and  scrupulous 
solicitude,  I  crawled  out  between  the 
guards  and  broke  away  up  the  track 
for  the  Bull  Run  River,  six  miles  dis- 
tant* Reaching  there,  as  I  came 
across  the  trestle,  a  Union  picket  took 
me  in  and  sent  me  to  the  post  head- 
quarters, at  Union  Mifls,  near-by*  The 

23 


WHEN  LINCOLN   KISSED  ME 

officer  in  command,  a  kind,  wcll-brcd 
Frenchman,  remembered  me  as  hav- 
ing visited  the  post  from  Washington 
a  few  weeks  previous*  And  here,  at 
last,  safe  within  our  lines,  my  story  of 
adventures  might  end;  except  that 
here,  at  last  also,  difficulties  less  ex- 
citing but,  if  possible,  more  formidable, 
and  certainly  much  more  annoying, 
were  awaiting  me. 

AT  One  End  of  a  Wire 

I  found  that  I  was  the  first  news- 
paper man — indeed,  the  only  man  from 
the  front — to  cross  Bull  Run  River* 
Tfiis  made  my  news  doubly  valuable* 
The  nearest  public  telegraph  station 
was  at  Alexandria,  twenty  miles  away* 
That  office  would  close  at  midnight. 
To  accomplish  my  **heai**  on  all  the 
other  papers  I  must  make  that  twenty 

miles  in  three  hours. 

29 


WHEN  LINCOLN   KISSED  ME 

At  that  time  ^*A  horse!  a  horse! '^ 
was  my  mental  exclamation  if  not 
an  actual  onet  and  I  oSered  all 
sorts  of  sums  up  to  a  thousand  dol- 
lars for  a  horse  and  guide  to  Alex- 
andria*  But  no  horse  was  to  be 
had  at  any  price*  Five  hundred  dol- 
lars was  my  ofiEer  for  a  hand-car 
and  a  husky  man  to  help  me  run 
itt  but  **  the  car  belonged  to  the  gov- 
ernment/* That  statement  gave  me 
an  idea:  the  government  had  a  tele- 
graph wire  out  there,  with  an  operator* 
I  would  not  confess  what  this  **  idea  *' 
was  except  to  make  this  narrative  com- 
plete^  andt  furthermore,  to  illustrate 
that  spirit  of  emulation  in  a  reporter 
which  may  tempt  him  sometimes  to 
adopt  desperate  measures  in  the  inter- 
est of  his  paper*  I  knew  that  no  mes- 
sages except  those  strictly  on  govern- 
ment business  and  under  military  con- 

30 


WHEN  LINCOLN    KISSED   ME 

trol  were  ever  permitted  over  one  of 
these  wires.  Nevertheless,  I  was  bent 
on  **  subsidizing ''  that  operator,  at 
whatever  cost,  to  send  out  just  a  few 
words  to  the  Tribune  Bureau  at  Wash- 
ington. But  before  I  reached  the  tele- 
graph office  this  scheme  was  aban- 
doned as  impracticable.  And  I  will 
give  out  this  hint  now  to  any  one  who 
may  contemplate  such  a  transaction: 
It  takes  two  operators  to  get  a  tele- 
gram through,  and  only  one  of  them 
will  be  within  your  **  sphere  of  per- 
sonal approach.'' 

Even  as  I  discarded  this  plan  another 
suggested  itself.  The  Hon.  Charles 
A.  Dana  was  a  personal  friend  of  mine, 
and  was  Assistant  Secretary  of  War. 
If  I  could  get  him  on  the  wire,  some- 
thing might  possibly  be  done;  so  I 
wrote  a  dispatch,  as  a  **  feeler,''  di- 
rected to  him,  officially,  as  follows: 

3S 


WHEN  LINCOLN   KISSED  ME 

**  I  am  just  in  from  the  front.  Left 
Grant  at  four  o'clock  this  morning*^ 

(Thist  by  the  way,  was  all  that  I  had 
told  anybody,  lest  any  real  news  might 
**Ieak/')  A  response  came  imme- 
diately,  but  from  Secretary  Stanton: 

^*  Where  did  you  leave  General  Grant}  ** 

What  ?  Even  the  government  had  no 
knowledge  of  events  at  the  front?  I 
had  stored  away  under  that  faded 
cloth  hat  all  the  information  there  was 
of  the  momentous  movements  across 
the  Rapidan^  But  I  would  be  modest 
and  generous:  if  Mr*  Stanton  would 
let  me  send  one  hundred  words  over 
the  government  line,  I  would  tell  him 
all  that  I  knew*  On  a  repetition  of  the 
demand,  in  more  peremptory  terms,  I 
replied  that  my  news  belonged  to  the 
New  York  Tribune,  and  that  he  would 
have  to  negotiate  with  them  for  its  re- 
lease*   But  I  renewed  my  offer* 

32 


GENERAL  GRANT  AT  HEADQUARTERS 
ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC 


WHEN   LINCOLN   KISSED  ME 

Arrested  as  a  Spy 

Five  minutes  afterward,  at  a  call 
from  the  operatort  the  post  commander 
came  in.  He  looked  at  a  telegram 
handed  him ;  and  he  then  informed  me 
that  Mr.  Stanton  had  ordered  my  ar- 
rest as  a  spy  unless  I  would  uncover 
my  news  from  the  front.  Of  course 
that  settled  it.  I  would  not  have  told 
him  one  little  word  to  save  my  life. 
But  here  I  was  at  the  end  of  my  re- 
sources. It  had  been  my  purpose,  if 
he  finally  refused  my  offer,  to  start 
afoot  for  Alexandria  in  a  frantic  effort 
to  make  the  twenty  miles  by  midnight, 
but  now  there  was  nothing  to  be  done 
but  to  submit.  This  news,  that  the 
whole  country  was  lying  awake  for,  was 
tied  'ip  here  with  a  strip  of  dirty  red 
tape.  And  the  young  man  who  to  get  it 
here  had  been  shot  at,  and  chased,  and 

33 


WHEN  LINCOLN  KISSED  ME 

captured;  who  had  masqueraded  as  a 
loathsome  ^*  copperhead/^  who  had 
told  two  hundred  lies,  and  who  had 
even  seriously  contemplated  commit- 
ting a  felony,  was  to  be  locked 
up  in  a  moldy,  rat-infested  guard 
house! 

Hardly  that*  On  giving  my  parole 
not  to  run  away  I  could  have  the  free- 
dom of  the  camp*  (Did  I  not  say  that 
this  officer  was  a  gentleman?  A  gentle- 
man and  a  true  soldier,  he  was*)  I 
lay  down  on  a  bench  in  the  little  sta- 
tion, hungry,  tired,  disgusted,  and,  for 
the  first  time,  utterly  discouraged* 

Lincoln  versus  Stanton 

Then  something  occurred  that  I  can- 
not explain*  I  knew  nothing  of  the 
telegraph  code,  yet,  as  a  message  was 
being  ticked  off  on  the  tape,  some 
subtle  current  of  influence  touched  my 

34 


WHEN  LINCOLN   KISSED  ME 

apprehension.     I  knew  that  it  was  for 
me.     I  sprang  to  my  feet. 

**  What  is  it  ?  ^*  was  my  question. 

**  Mr*  Lincoln  wants  to  know  if  you 
will  tell  him  where  Grant  is.'' 

I  repeated  my  offer — to  communicate 
whatever  information  I  had,  for  the 
use  of  the  wire  to  transmit  one  hun- 
dred words.  He  accepted  my  terms 
without  hesitation,  only  suggesting  that 
my  statement  to  my  paper  be  so  full  as 
to  disclose  to  the  public  the  general 
situation. 

Nothing  now  was  the  matter  with 
me.  I  was  neither  tired,  hungry,  nor 
sleepy.  Standing  by  the  operator  at 
Union  Mills,  I  dictated  the  half-column 
dispatch  which  appeared  in  the  Tri- 
bune on  the  morning  of  Saturday, 
May  7,  1864.  Mr.  Lincoln,  with  his 
characteristic  thoughtfulness  for  the 
public  interests,  arranged  for  the  trans- 

35 


WHEN  LINCOLN  KISSED  ME 

fer  to  the  Associated  Press  of  a  short 
summary  of  the  news,  and  thus  the 
anxiety  of  the  whole  cotintry  was  set 
at  ease* 

Alone  tith  Lincoln 

A  locomothre  was  sent  down  for  me, 
and  abotft  two  o'clock  in  the  morning 
I  reached  the  \rhite  House,  where  the 
President  had  gathered  his  ofi&cial  fam- 
ily to  meet  me*  As  I  stepped  into  the 
room  where  they  were  seated  my 
glance  caught  a  quick  gleam  of  sur- 
prise and  apprehension  in  Jrlr.  Lin- 
coln's eyes,  and  I  was  awakened  to  a 
sense  of  my  disreputable  appearance* 
My  hair  was  disheveled,  my  shabby 
old  coat  was  dusty  and  wrinkled, 
my  pantaloons,  much  too  long,  were 
folded  back  at  the  bottom  and  gath- 
ered abotrt  my  ankles  with  pieces  of 
cotton   twine,   and    my   coarse    shoes 

36 


WHEN   LINCOLN   KISSED   ME 

were  coated  three  or  four  layers  thick 
with  **  sabred  soiL''  I  had  met,  per- 
haps, every  one  of  this  company  at  pub- 
lic functions  or  in  private  interviews, 
but  not  one  of  them  recognized  me  in 
this  garb.  As  my  glance  swept  around 
the  group  it  rested  on  the  genial  coun- 
tenance of  a  particular  friend,  Mr. 
Welles,  of  Hartford,  Qmnecticutt  the 
Honorable  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  As 
I  advanced  and  accosted  him  he  iden- 
tified me  by  my  voice.  He  then  pre- 
sented me,  with  much  embarrassing 
formality,  to  the  others. 

A  half  hour  or  more  was  spent  in 
description  of  the  movements  of  the 
troops,  and  in  explanation,  from  a  large 
map  on  the  wall,  of  the  situation  at  the 
time  when  I  left.  Then,  as  the  com- 
pany was  dispersing.  I  turned  to  Jrlr. 
Lincoki.  and  said:  *^Mr.  President,  I 

have  a  personal  word  for  you.^ 

0/ 


WHEN  LINCOLN  KISSED  ME 

The  others  withdrew  and  he  closed 
the  door  and  advanced  toward  me*  As 
he  stood  there  I  realized  as  never  be- 
fore how  tall  he  was*  I  looked  up  into 
his  impassive  face,  ready  to  deliver 
Grant^s  message*  He  took  a  short, 
quick  step  toward  me,  and,  stooping 
to  bring  his  eyes  level  with  mine, 
whispered,  in  tones  of  intense,  im- 
patient interest,  ^^What  is  it?'' 

I  was  so  moved  that  I  could  hardly 
stammer :  ^*  General  Grant  told  me  to 
tell  yott,  from  him,  that,  whatever  hap- 
pens, there  is  to  be  no  taming  back*'' 

The  vision  that  opened  through 
those  wonderful  eyes  from  a  great 
soul  glowing  with  a  newly  kindled  hope 
is  the  likeness  of  Mr*  Lincoln  that  I 
still  hold  in  my  memory,  and  ever 
shall*  And  that  hope  was  never  to  be 
extinguished*  Others  had  '*  turned 
back/*     Every  other  one  had*     But 

38 


WHEN   LINCOLN   KISSED   ME 

there  had  come  an  end  of  that  fatal 
foHy^ 

Mr.  Lincoln  put  his  great,  strong 
arms  about  me  and,  carried  away  in 
the  exuberance  of  his  gladness,  im- 
printed a  kiss  upon  my  forehead*  We 
sat  down  again;  and  then  I  disclosed 
to  him,  as  I  could  not  do  except  in  the 
light  of  that  pledge  of  the  great  com- 
mander, all  the  disheartening  details 
of  that  dreadful  day  in  the  wilderness* 
But  I  could  assure  him  that  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac,  in  all  its  history,  was 
never  in  such  hopeful  spirit  as  when 
they  discovered,  at  the  close  of  a  day 
of  disappointment,  that  they  were  not 

to  **  turn  back/' 

39 


V 


y 


■fi 


